Circle Backwards
by dlhasler
Summary: Summary and disclaimer inside. Trigger warnings for self-harm/hatred, substance abuse, parental neglect, eating disorder, rape, and physical/sexual/emotional abuse


A/n: Hello Oncers! So I had another account on here but I've been making a lot of changes to my life lately so I figured, why not start anew? I'm a hardcore swanqueen shipper… I'm talking foam fingers here guys, so this story will obviously reflect that. It will also follow Emma's relationship with MM. It is an AU so Emma and Regina will both be 16 and I have no plans of adding Henry to the story so far, but this may change as the fic goes on. Cora will be mayor of the town and you may note other subtle differences. This is going to be a dark fic, and though it will have it's sickeningly fluffy moments, I'd like to announce trigger warnings for self-harm, substance abuse, sexual, emotional and physical abuse, self-hatred, parental neglect, and an eating disorder. Our girls will go through hell and back but I do promise a happy ending. Regina will not be in the first chapter as I want to establish a bit of a base for both characters before bringing them together, and this is Emma's. Feel free to review and add suggestions and opinions. Without further ado…

Disclaimer: Oh yeah… I don't own the show or any of it's characters or the song title (Circle Backwards by Mark Provart), I'm just borrowing them for a while. NOW without further ado…

Mary Margaret sighed in exasperation, as she looked down at the stack of paper that seemed to be getting bigger and bigger as the night progressed. She hated grading her student's work on Friday evenings but sadly; it was a task that had to be done. After staring at the pile for a few more minutes she decided to finish them at home with a nice warm cup of hot chocolate and cinnamon.

She had almost all of her stuff packed away and ready to go when she heard it, a loud argument coming from the street outside of her classroom window. The sweet brunette hurried outside to see what all the fuss was about, thinking that Leroy had drank too much again and that he was probably making it difficult for Ruby to close.

"Dammit Emma, just get back in the fucking car!" She heard a gruff male voice demand as she made her way out of the front door. Wait, Emma? Who was Emma? Mary Margaret was pretty sure she new most of the residents of Storybrooke, and she had never once heard tell of this 'Emma'.

"Like hell! I'm not going back with you or her you can forget it. I'm done being your meal ticket so just screw off!" The younger female replied with a poisonous tone.

Mary Margaret jumped in before the argument could get any further.

She didn't know why but she had the strangest instinct to protect this girl by all means necessary.

"Ummm is there a problem here?" The schoolteacher asked innocently, but the look in her eyes was a strong indication that the larger man should back off. The blonde named Emma stared at her for a long while as if analyzing her. Probably wondering why this random lady she'd never met before was trying to help her out and what she wanted in return.

"No… no problem here lady, I was just leaving." The sandy haired man replied before slipping into his truck and adding, "I hope you freeze out here Emma!" before driving away.

"Hey, are you okay? He seemed pretty intense." The older women asked as she sized Emma up. She already counted 4 bruises and a few cuts and those were just on her face.

"I'm fine, thanks" She replied before turning to walk away. She didn't need this right now; the sympathetic pitying looks she got whenever someone saw her in public were enough to drive her insane. The pathetic attempts people made to actually come off like they care. If there was one thing Emma had learned in her life, it was that people only give a damn about you if they can benefit from you in the long run.

"I know it's none of my business, but you don't look fine." Mary replied, jogging to try and keep up with the retreating blonde. "Are you from around here?"

She didn't know why but she had to make sure the young girl was okay.

"Look I appreciate your help, but I can take care of myself and I don't need some nun offering me the goodwill of god." Emma spat harshly, trying to shake the persistent woman.

"I'm far from a nun, and I'm not trying to preach to you." She replied in a frustrated tone. She didn't understand how this girl could get under her skin so easily. "Look at least let me call your parents for you or something, they must be worried sick!"

"No parents to worry. Well foster parents, but they've probably already changed their number and moved from Boston." The sixteen-year old brushed her off, hoping she'd just leave her alone.

"Alright then what do you plan on doing, walking all the way back to Boston? I have a spare room, you can stay there for the night and then we'll figure the rest out in the morning."

"Tempting but I'll pass, I don't even know you lady!" Emma was astounded that this cheery brunette actually expected her to come home with her.

"It's not like you have many options, you can't seriously tell me you plan to sleep out here?" It was a rhetorical question so Emma kept quiet. She had slept on the street before but it certainly wasn't an appealing option and it's not like she had any money for food or a motel. Plus she would put money on the fact that this was the type of woman who caught spiders and released them back into the wild.

"Fine, but I'm outta here tomorrow." The young blonde agreed, making it seem like it was a chore to accept Mary's offer.

"Alright, so Emma is it? I'm Mary Margaret." The women smiled politely. Emma just nodded and stocked ahead, this was going to be a long night.

"So Boston huh? That's a pretty long ways to travel." Mary Margaret commented passing Emma some hot chocolate. She had no idea why she had such a strong draw to the blonde, but she wasn't about to question it when the younger girl obviously needed some support.

"Yeah well..." Emma brushed off the older women's concerns before staring down at the hot beverage; "Got anything a little stronger?" the older woman scoffed at the girl's request and raised her eyebrow.

"What are you, around 17ish? Yeah you can forget it." The teacher knew that Emma was probably no stranger to alcohol, but she wasn't about to encourage the substance abuse. Emma rolled her eyes at the brunette's attempt at putting her foot down but she had to hold back a genuine smile at the thought of someone caring enough to do so.

"16. I'm 16," Emma corrected before continuing "Is this cinnamon?" she asked, now moving on to ponder their shared tastes in hot chocolate. Mary blushed and nodded, she hadn't even really thought about the young girl's preference when making the cocoa.

"Yeah it's a little quirk of mine, I can get you another if you want-" she trailed off.

"No, it's fine. I like it better this way too." Emma gave the teacher a half-hearted smile. It really was nice of her to take a complete stranger into her house.

"So uh, why don't you let me take care of those injuries? They could get infected." Mary Margaret commented worriedly. Emma was about to refuse, but the look on the older woman's face stopped her. She didn't know why, but she had the strangest urge to appease this women. Nodding, she let the shorter lady drag her into the washroom.

The brunette grabbed some disinfectant and set to work on the 16 year old's face, recoiling at the sight of the heavy bruises but attempting to hold her tongue. When she got to the blondes arms and shoulders, she couldn't help but gasp at all of the deep cuts and what seemed to be a previously broken arm that had heeled in an awkward position.

Emma was getting uncomfortable with the other women's reaction and knew that it was only a matter of time before she asked what had happened to her.

"Look, I appreciate this I really do, but I should go. This was a bad idea." The blonde said before standing. Mary Margaret was quick to follow suit.

"Hey, wait. I'm sorry your injuries just… surprised me, that's all. I just want to help okay?"

"Lady you don't even know me! Why the hell do you care so much about what happens to me? I can take care of myself, I've done it for years!" Emma hissed, she didn't like being the center of attention and she didn't know how to handle it. For some reason the younger girl's words struck a cord with Mary.

" I don't know okay? I just… I have to make sure you're all right! There are decent people in this world Emma and I know you find that hard to believe, but there are. You don't have anywhere to go anyway, and if you think I'm letting you go back to an abusive home then you've got another thing coming!" Mary replied in an equally annoyed voice.

"How did you-?" Emma finally said after the shock wore off from the other women's outburst.

"The guarded attitude, the injuries, it's not that hard to put two and two together." Mary finished in a softer voice. "Just stay here for a little while and let me help you." The brunette persuaded. Emma just nodded in a defeated manner before letting Mary clean up the rest of her injuries.

A few hours later the teacher had just settled in to bed when the doorbell rang. Grumbling, Mary Margaret shuffled over to the door and opened it slowly.

"Mayor Mills?" She was beyond confused. The mayor never made visits to her home, let alone at this god forsaken hour, "What are you-"

"Miss Blanchard, a word please?" The stark women replied before she could finish her sentence. Oh this couldn't be good.

The schoolteacher took a tentative step into the hallway to converse with the mayor so as not to wake her sleeping guest.

"Oh please Miss Blanchard despite what you may have heard, I don't bite." Cora spoke in an agitated tone that, despite being contradicting to her words, kept the schoolteacher on her toes.

"I'm afraid I don't quite understand why you're here mayor Mills." Mary Margaret replied, choosing to ignore the mayor's previous comment. To be honest the stoic and independent woman had always made her a little antsy. It was as unexplained as her detest for apples.

"Well, much like yourself, I too was woken up at this ungodly hour by a phone call from my dear friends in Boston. It seems that their daughter has once again run away and according to their son's description, she seems to have run right into you. Am I getting warm Miss Blanchard?" The mayor questioned the stunned brunette, "Anyway, I've come to collect her and bring her to them personally."

"Cora, you can't possibly expect me to let you come into my house and take Emma back to an abusive home. The girl has bruises and scars all over her body and she obviously ran away for a reason!" Mary protested, not wanting her new resident to be pulled back to that nightmare anytime soon.

" Mr. and Mrs. Swan tell me that Emma is a very clumsy girl who struggles with a lot of personal issues, including substance abuse. She seems to bring trouble wherever she goes and I will not tolerate that kind of behavior in my town. " The aging woman replied, stepping into Mary Margaret's personal space. " May I make a suggestion Miss Blanchard? Why don't you stick to your duties as a teacher and citizen of this town and leave municipal affairs to those who can deal with them adequately." Normally the younger woman would back away from this sort of confrontation, but she was on quite the protective streak.

"Well unless you have proof of parental consent, I can't willingly allow Emma to go with you now can I?" The teacher shot back before reopening the door to her apartment and stepping through the threshold, "I wouldn't want you to think I'm neglecting my duty as a teacher and citizen by not ensuring the well-being of the youth in this town." Mary Margaret took the older woman's silence as an end to their conversation and dismissed her with a "Goodnight Madame Mayor." before shutting and locking the apartment door. When she turned around, she was met with a pair of green eyes that were slightly widened in surprise.

"Why'd you do that?" was all Emma could say, as she stood there stunned. Taking someone in from the cold for the night was one thing, but refusing to allow her to be taken back to her own personal hell was another. She'd never had someone who cared that much for her, let alone in the first five hours that they'd ever laid eyes on her.

"I told you Emma, I don't know why, but I need to make sure you're okay." The teacher responded chuckling slightly at the fact that the blonde had been eavesdropping before continuing, "Look I want to help you honey, but I need something to roll with. Cora will be back here tomorrow morning at the latest with a consent form or worse your foster parents. You're at least going to have to tell me what happened if I'm going to get you out of there okay?"

Emma hesitated for a while before nodding. She couldn't go back with her foster parents, but there was no way in hell she was going to tell a woman she'd just met her darkest secrets. This was the first time anybody had ever gave a damn about her and she wasn't about to ruin that by allowing the woman to see her fucked up background; she'd kick her to the curb in an instant. No, she'd give the brunette enough to work with and no more.

A/N: Review buttons are our friends… just saying.


End file.
